Calls for calm after gang shooting
Police are staying tight-lipped on the hunt for suspects in a gangrelated killing in Whanganui as town leaders have reassured the shaken community.
Mongrel Mob member Kevin Ratana, 27, also known as ‘‘Kastro’’, was killed on Tuesday morning in what is believed to be an attack on a family house by a rival gang.
Whanganui Detective Inspector Ross McKay said on Tuesday both Ratana and the group who shot him were ‘‘known’’ to police.
However, police have said little else about the homicide investigation.
Whanganui’s acting mayor, Jenny Duncan, appealed for calm, and offered reassurance and sympathy to a family and community going through a difficult time.
‘‘I am being briefed on developments by the police area commander, and have been assured there is no immediate cause for concern to the general public,’’ Duncan said.
The acting mayor said that despite the community’s concerns, there was no indication the overall situation was worsening.
Tensions were already mounting in the area over the past few months, as a new youth gang aggravated the old rivalry between Black Power and Mongrel Mob, the mother of Ratana’s partner told Stuff on Wednesday.
By Wednesday, most of the homes near the scene on Puriri St were empty, and at least one family was seen driving off in a car packed with belongings.
A resident, who asked not to be named, said a wary hush had fallen over the normally bustling street since the shooting.
But gang conflict is nothing new in Puriri St.
This is the same street where toddler Jhia Te Tua lost her life 11 years ago.
The 2-year-old was shot dead in a gang-related drive-by shooting while asleep in her home 400 metres from Tuesday’s shooting. Mongrel Mob associates opened fire as they drove past Jhia’s house on May 5, 2007.
The bullet was intended for her father, Black Power member Joshua Te Tua. Down the road from Puriri St, in Cross St, Paul Kumeroa died after being beaten while out walking at 10pm on September 23, 2008.
The reason? Wearing a red jersey in the Black Power area of town.
Life-long Black Power member Denis O’Reilly also added his voice to the calls for calm in a television interview the day after the fatal shooting.
O’Reilly asked gang members, on both sides, to listen to their leaders and co-operate with police in this matter.
‘‘Us men can go out and do our things, it could be in the field of battle or on the rugby field, and let that be as it may. But children, family homes, are sacrosanct.’’
Any revenge, or utu, should occur through the process of law, he said.